MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALXA) today announced the promotion of Kelly Seither to the newly created position of Vice President, Global Strategic Marketing and New Product Planning, and Tatjana Naranda, PhD, to the newly created position of Vice President, Business Development and Global Alliance Management.

Kelly Seither joined Alexza in 2003 as Director, New Product Development and Market Research. She was promoted to Senior Director, New Product Planning and Strategic Marketing in 2007 and to Executive Director, New Product Planning and Strategic Marketing in 2012. Prior to joining Alexza, Ms. Seither was Senior Product Manager at Gilead Sciences from 2002 to 2003 and Senior Product Manager at Aerogen, Inc. from 2001 to 2002. From 1991 to 2001, she had various positions of increasing responsibility at ALZA Corporation in market research, new product planning, sales and product management. Ms. Seither received a BS in Biological Sciences from California Polytechnic State University.

Tatjana Naranda, PhD, joined Alexza in 2005 as Director, Business Development. She was promoted to Senior Director, Business Development in 2009 and to Executive Director, Business Development in 2012. Prior to joining Alexza, Dr. Naranda was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of Receptron, Inc., from 1998 to 2005. Dr. Naranda received a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Autonomous University in Madrid, Spain and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biological Chemistry in the School of Medicine at UC Davis. She received an MBA from Golden Gate University, a BSc in Chemistry and an MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Zagreb in Croatia.

About Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Alexza Pharmaceuticals is focused on the research, development and commercialization of novel, proprietary products for the acute treatment of central nervous system conditions. Alexza's products are based on the Staccato® system, a hand-held inhaler designed to deliver a drug aerosol to the deep lung, providing rapid systemic delivery and therapeutic onset, in a simple, non-invasive manner.

ADASUVE (Staccato loxapine) is Alexza's first commercial product, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2012 and by the European Commission in February 2013. Teva Pharmaceutical USA, Inc. is Alexza's commercial partner for ADASUVE in the U.S. Grupo Ferrer Internacional, S.A. is Alexza's commercial partner for ADASUVE in Europe, Latin America, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States countries.

For more information about Alexza, the Staccato system technology or the Company's development programs, please visit www.alexza.com.

ADASUVE® and Staccato® are registered trademarks of Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc.